Method and apparatus for rapid sterilization of hazmat suits, surgical instruments and the like

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for sterilization are disclosed, including placing one or more UV light sources located substantially at one or more foci of a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure; and generating UV radiation from the one or more UV light sources to sanitize one or more objects positioned between the foci of the substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure; wherein the one or more UV light sources comprises a beam from a KrF Excimer laser being scattered by a spherically scattering sphere; wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit light pulses having a wavelength of about 248 nm; wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit nanosecond light pulses; and wherein the spherically scattering sphere comprises a hollow fused silica filled with solid fused silica spheres. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

I. CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/072,306, filed on Oct. 29,2014, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Rapid Sterilization of HazmatSuits, Surgical Instruments and the Like,” the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure.

II. SUMMARY

In one respect, disclosed is an apparatus for sterilization comprising:a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure; and oneor more UV light sources located substantially at the foci of thesubstantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure.

In another respect, disclosed is an apparatus for sterilizationcomprising: a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure; and one or more UV light sources located substantially at thefoci of the substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure; wherein the one or more UV light sources comprises a beamfrom a laser being scattered by a substantially isotropically scatteringoptical element; wherein the laser comprises at least one of a KrFExcimer laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser, afourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonicq-switched Nd:YLF solid state laser, a fourth harmonic mode lockedNd:YLF solid state laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YVO4 solidstate laser, and a fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YVO4 solid statelaser; wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit light pulseshaving a wavelength of about 248 nm; wherein the KrF Excimer laser isconfigured to emit nanosecond light pulses; and wherein thesubstantially isotropically scattering optical element comprises ahollow fused silica bulb filled with solid fused silica spheres.

In another respect, disclosed is a method for sterilization comprising:placing one or more UV light sources located substantially at one ormore foci of a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure; and generating UV radiation from the one or more UV lightsources to sanitize one or more objects positioned between the foci ofthe substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure.

In yet another respect, disclosed is a method for sterilizationcomprising: placing one or more UV light sources located substantiallyat one or more foci of a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surfacecoated enclosure; and generating UV radiation from the one or more UVlight sources to sanitize one or more objects positioned between thefoci of the substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure; wherein the laser comprises at least one of a KrF Excimerlaser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourthharmonic mode locked Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonicq-switched Nd:YLF solid state laser, a fourth harmonic mode lockedNd:YLF solid state laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YVO4 solidstate laser, and a fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YVO4 solid statelaser; wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit light pulseshaving a wavelength of about 248 nm; wherein the KrF Excimer laser isconfigured to emit nanosecond light pulses; and wherein thesubstantially isotropically scattering optical element comprises ahollow fused silica bulb filled with solid fused silica spheres.

Numerous additional embodiments are also possible.

III. BACKGROUND

There is recurrent need for rapid sterilization of materials and toolsexposed to hazardous infectious agents such as Ebola and other harmfulbacteria and pathogens. What is proposed is the equivalent of an airshower for persons entering a cleanroom, but in this case it is a rapid,highly efficient means for the sterilization of the surface of exposedhazmat suits while the person is wearing the suit. In the case ofsurgical instruments, the rapid sterilization is accomplished in ascaled down version of the system disclosed. An embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in the appended figures.

IV. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent uponreading the detailed description and upon reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rapid sterilizer, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rapid sterilizer, inaccordance with some embodiments.

While the invention is subject to various modifications and alternativeforms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in thedrawings and the accompanying detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are notintended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments. Thisdisclosure is instead intended to cover all modifications, equivalents,and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention asdefined by the appended claims.

V. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments of the invention are described below. It shouldbe noted that these and any other embodiments are exemplary and areintended to be illustrative of the invention rather than limiting. Whilethe invention is widely applicable to different types of systems, it isimpossible to include all of the possible embodiments and contexts ofthe invention in this disclosure. Upon reading this disclosure, manyalternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent topersons of ordinary skill in the art.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment has a high power Excimer laser usingKrF pump media emitting nanosecond UV light pulses at 248 nm. Thispulsed UV light has very efficient antibiotic characteristics. The beamfrom this laser source is split into two beams by a beam splitter (BS)shown in FIG. 1. These beams are steered by means of mirrors (M) to twosubstantially isotropically scattering optical element, such asspherically scattering spheres, located at the foci of an ellipsoidalhighly reflecting diffuse surface coated enclosure. Because the UV lightpulses are brought into spherically scattering sources at the foci of anellipsoidal cavity, the entire cavity will be uniformly illuminated withthe UV light pulses. A person (as shown in FIG. 1) will be instantlyuniformly illuminated and the hazmat suit they are wearing will berapidly sterilized and sanitized. To achieve proper centering of theperson, a grate with wide open spacing is used as the floor in theenclosure. A support structure holds the enclosure with the major axisvertically. In other embodiments, the laser comprises a fourth harmonicq-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonic mode lockedNd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YLF solidstate laser, a fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YLF solid state laser, afourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YVO₄ solid state laser, and/or a fourthharmonic mode locked Nd:YVO₄ solid state laser. All of these lasersources are capable of generating short pulses of far UV light whichmaximizes the lethality of the radiation acting on the pathogenicorganisms.

A related embodiment is shown in FIG. 2. In this apparatus, a scaleddown version of the above described system is shown. Again a high powerKrF Excimer laser emitting nanosecond laser pulses at 248 nm is beamsteered to two spherically scattering spheres located at the foci of aproperly coated ellipsoidal enclosure as shown in FIG. 2. To be rapidlysterilized and sanitized, the surgical instruments, such as scalpels,forceps, and even endoscopes, are placed on a grate positioned near themajor axis of the enclosure. In this arrangement, as in the abovedisclosed one, the sterilizing pulsed UV light uniformly illuminates thetargeted objects placed near the major axis. A support structure asshown keeps the ellipsoidal enclosure horizontal.

An example embodiment of a spherically scattering sphere may be producedby filling a small fused silica hollow bulb with fused silica solidspheres of an appropriate dimension. The fused silica solid spheresscatter the incident laser radiation in a substantially isotropicmanner.

In alternate embodiments, other UV sterilization light sources may beused, such as placing xenon or mercury vapor lamps at the foci of theenclosure.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

The benefits and advantages that may be provided by the presentinvention have been described above with regard to specific embodiments.These benefits and advantages, and any elements or limitations that maycause them to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construedas critical, required, or essential features of any or all of theclaims. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or anyother variations thereof, are intended to be interpreted asnon-exclusively including the elements or limitations which follow thoseterms. Accordingly, a system, method, or other embodiment that comprisesa set of elements is not limited to only those elements, and may includeother elements not expressly listed or inherent to the claimedembodiment.

While the present invention has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to theseembodiments. Many variations, modifications, additions and improvementsto the embodiments described above are possible. It is contemplated thatthese variations, modifications, additions and improvements fall withinthe scope of the invention as detailed within the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sterilizer comprising: a substantiallyellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure; and one or more UVlight sources located substantially at the foci of the substantiallyellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosure.
 2. The sterilizer ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more UV light sources comprises a beam froma laser being scattered by a substantially isotropically scatteringoptical element.
 3. The sterilizer of claim 2, wherein the lasercomprises at least one of a KrF Excimer laser, a fourth harmonicq-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonic mode lockedNd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YLF solidstate laser, a fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YLF solid state laser, afourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YVO4 solid state laser, and a fourthharmonic mode locked Nd:YVO4 solid state laser.
 4. The sterilizer ofclaim 3, wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit lightpulses having a wavelength of about 248 nm.
 5. The sterilizer of claim3, wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit nanosecond lightpulses.
 6. The sterilizer of claim 2, wherein the substantiallyisotropically scattering optical element comprises a hollow fused silicabulb filled with solid fused silica spheres.
 7. The sterilizer of claim1, wherein the one or more UV light sources comprises at least one of axenon lamp and a mercury vapor lamp.
 8. The sterilizer of claim 1,wherein the substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure comprises a diffuse surface.
 9. A method for sterilizationcomprising: placing one or more UV light sources located substantiallyat one or more foci of a substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surfacecoated enclosure; and generating UV radiation from the one or more UVlight sources to sanitize one or more objects positioned between thefoci of the substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coatedenclosure.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more UV lightsources comprises a beam from a laser being scattered by a substantiallyisotropically scattering optical element.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the laser comprises at least one of a KrF Excimer laser, afourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonicmode locked Nd:YAG solid state laser, a fourth harmonic q-switchedNd:YLF solid state laser, a fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YLF solidstate laser, a fourth harmonic q-switched Nd:YVO4 solid state laser, anda fourth harmonic mode locked Nd:YVO4 solid state laser.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit lightpulses having a wavelength of about 248 nm.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the KrF Excimer laser is configured to emit nanosecond lightpulses.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the substantiallyisotropically scattering optical element comprises a hollow fused silicabulb filled with solid fused silica spheres.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein the one or more UV light sources comprises at least one of axenon lamp and a mercury vapor lamp.
 16. The method of claim 9, whereinthe substantially ellipsoidal reflecting surface coated enclosurecomprises a diffuse surface.
 17. The method of claim 9, wherein the oneor more objects comprises a human dressed in a hazmat suit.
 18. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the one or more objects comprises anendoscope.